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Jason Kidd

February 29, 2008

When the possibility was mentioned that Jason Kidd might struggle guarding certain point guards, Beno Udrih -- the last time we checked -- wasn't on the list. But the fourth-year Spurs cast-off is putting on a show tonight with 25 points on 10-of-14 shooting with about 6 minutes left in the game.

Watch how often Jason Kidd dribbles to the top of the key, gives up the ball and never sees it again as the offense devolves into an isolation nightmare. it will really surprise you how often it happens. good things happen when kidd has the ball in his hands. why take it away?

One of the biggest swings of the game occurred with 3:44 left in the third quarter after Jason Terry's shot was goal-tended by Robert Horry, giving the Mavs a 67-57 lead. Well, Terry then picked up a technical -- apparently claiming he was elbowed by Bruce Bowen -- and former Mav Michael Finley calmly hit the free throw, which sparked an 11-1 Spurs run that included an Avery Johnson technical. Finley had nine points in the run, which -- pardon the pun -- was definitely spurred by the Mavs' lack of composure. It was a shocking display by a veteran team.

While Jason Kidd did have 10 hard-earned assists, the Spurs won that battle, too, 19-17.

The Mavs did a great job on the boards, winning the rebounding game 44-36, and they did a fantastic job getting to the line, where they shot 26-of-31.

But it was easy to see how they still labored to score and get easy buckets. Sure, the Spurs are a good defensive team, but there weren't many instances in which Jason Kidd made things easier for his teammates. Jet shot 2-of-10 and Dirk went 5-of-15 with a steady dose of Finley-Bowen defense. At least Josh Howard almost shot 50 percent (6-of-14) and made a few nice cuts to the hoop.

As expected, Tim Duncan ate the depleted Mavs front court alive tonight, scoring 31 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and shooting 12 of 20 from the floor. Jamaal Magloire was inactive in his first eligible game as a Maverick, so that meant Erick Dampier and Brandon Bass got to trade off guarding him. That evidently didn't work, and Duncan turned out to be a huge part of the game.

The matchup of Jason Kidd vs. Tony Parker wasn't quite what it was billed as, however. Parker is still slowed by the ankle injury that held him out for nine games, and is obviously not his usual self. But, Kidd wasn't able to utilize Parker's hindrance anyway tonight as Manu Ginobili was paired with him defensively most of the time. So, the longer, more agile Manu was able to hold Kidd to seven points on 3-of-8 shooting. Kidd was able to dish out 10 assists, but he wasn't even in the game for the last half minute and didn't impact the game as heavily as the Mavericks may have expected.

It's worrisome how the Mavericks are coming out of late-game timeouts with busted plays. They lucked out with two big offensive rebounds, which was the only reason they had multiple chances to tie the game. Maybe if that's Jason Kidd driving and dishing at the end of the game (instead of Terry driving and getting blocked ugly-style by Bruce Bowen), then things might have ended differently. Of course, that's assuming that Kidd was even quick enough to get into the lane to dish it out in the first place.

February 24, 2008

Jason Kidd has 13 assists near the end of the third quarter, and it's obvious that his crisp passing is leading to some easy offensive opportunities for the Mavs. However, another evident part of his game showed. He tried to step up and take a charge, but his obvious lack of lateral quickness prevented him from getting to the spot quick enough, and he picked up his first foul.

February 19, 2008

Jason Kidd: “There’s no bigger reward than to have that championship trophy in your hand. That’s why I’m here. Because Dallas has its eye on that prize.”

Mark Cuban: “It’s been the most amazing, interesting trade we’ve ever done, and we’ve done some doozies here. I’ve never seen anything like it, but all’s well that ends well. We got the right guys.”

More Cuban: “In any business there’s lulls. Everybody was waiting for the postseason to start. You can’t just say, ’OK, turn it on in the postseason.’ I think Jason ... being that iconic All-Star will spark a lot of people.”

Nets coach Lawrence Frank, on Kidd: “He’s a once-in-a-lifetime type of guy to play with and coach. He’s had an unbelievable impact on everyone in this organization and we wish him nothing but the best.”

Nets president Rod Thorn: “Over the course of time it became very evident that his heart wasn’t in it. The kind of player he is, if his heart’s not in it then he’s not the same player, and it became evident to me that his heart wasn’t in it anymore. It just wasn’t going to work.”

Mavs coach Avery Johnson: “We understand the competition [in the West] is fierce, but we’re not afraid of the competition. We feel [Kidd’s] skill set can help us finish stronger, finish games better. Obviously he’s not the guy we’re going to lean on for points, points, points, points. He’s going to help us because at the end of games, he just knows how to win."

February 17, 2008

I'll admit it, I was against this trade as soon as it surfaced. And now that it looks like it's on its way to happening, I decided to look back at the classic "Five Stages of Grief" (along with a few added ones of my own) that Mavs fans who are against this trade have probably gone through over the last five days.

1) Denial: "That isn't happening, somebody made that up."

2) Reality denial: "There's no way Cuban, Nellie and Avery all signed off on this atrocity. This is happening in bizarro NBA."

3) Anger: "How could they?!Devin Harris is the catalyst for this team! How dare they bring in an old timer past his prime to replace him!?"

4) Bargaining: "Well, if we get Stack back after the trade, then it isn't as bad."

5) Depression: "Man, not only are we not going to win a championship, now the franchise is going to start going downhill faster than it was before."

And then, just before acceptance sets in: "I try to do what's best for me. My agent looks out for me and the Mavericks obviously want to look out for their organization." -- Devean George

TNT's Craig Sager talked with Kobe during the All-Star Game. Here's the dish:

Sager: We reported earlier tonight that it appears the Jason Kidd trade will go through, he'll go back to Dallas. What are your thoughts on the West and how everyone is trying to keep up maybe with the Pau Gasol and the Shaq trade and everything that's going on.

Kobe: I think it makes the game more interesting. The Western Conference is tough to begin with, and you're talking about two teams who, you know, Phoenix won 60 games, Dallas won 67 game and they're doing nothing but getting better. It makes the West extremely competitive.

TNT's Craig Sager talked to Mavs All-Star Dirk Nowitzki before he checked into the game Sunday. Here' s what went down:

Sager: Well, Dirk, now we're at a Plan B for this proposed trade. We talked to you last week about how excited you were to possibly play with Jason Kidd, then you found out you weren't. Now it may be on again. What does this mean to you and the Dallas Mavericks if it is on?

Dirk: Well, you know, I think I want to make sure that it really is on before I comment on it. I think this has been the weirdest week for everyone involved, so I want to hear it with my own ears that the deal went through and then I'll be more than happy to comment on it.

Sager: Have you talked to Jason Kidd this weekend? And if so, what was that conversation like?

Dirk: Now more than ever, you don't really see each other. He's on the East team right now. You know, just mingling and being friends I guess.